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Poetry
Students apply reading comprehension skills to poetry and synthesize the information to create a new piece of work.
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A Movie in Your Mind: Persuasive Text
Students listen to a broadcast of War of the Worlds and illustrate what they hear. In this persuasive text lesson plan students prepare for making a movie poster intended to persuade a director to make a film based on a short story.
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Introduction to melodrama
Students, in groups, read a melodrama and rehearse their scenes to perform in front of the rest of the class.
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Letter Writing
Third graders write to themselves or to known audiences, share news, explore new ideas, and record notes. They identify that holidays are days that people set aside to recognize a person or event that has made a great impression....
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Going West: The Artist Who Painted the Way
Fifth graders study the artists and artwork of the Westward movement. For this Westward Movement lesson set, 5th graders examine the characteristics of the art of this era. They look at the lives of the artists and think about how the...
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Getting to Know You
Students explore the concept of communication. In this communication lesson plan, students create collages featuring their likes and dislikes. Students present the collages to their classmates.
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Eckstine, Stayhorn, and the Dorseys: Masters of Swing
Students explore the history of swing music. In this music history lesson plan, students research the Dorsey Brothers, Billy Eckstine, and William Strayhorn to learn about swing music. Students define swing, develop a timeline of events...
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Introduction to Poetry
Students are introduced to poetry and music. They discuss what the two have in common. They identify a song as their favorite and explain why.
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Memior: The Stuff of Our Lives
Fourth graders reflect upon the significance of remembered events and to keep a "notebook" of their thoughts and feelings. They read books that exemplify memior writing. They write their memiors, taking it through the writing process.
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The Great Gatsby
Eleventh graders investigate the concept of the American Dream. They use the novel "The Great Gatsby" as an example from literature. Students brainstorm in order to define the American Dream.
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Authors of the Past and Present
Learners research a chosen author. In this authors instructional activity, students pick one author from the list provided, do research, and write a paper.
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Gandhi's Voice: Writing as Nonviolent Resistance
Ninth graders identify how Mahatma Gandhi used writing as a means of nonviolent communication. For this nonviolent resistance lesson, 9th graders watch a film about Gandhi as a writer and identify characteristics of nonviolent activism....
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Reading Multicultural Literature
High schoolers read several fictional pieces which examine issues of urbanization and rural cultures. They discuss how the place a person lives affects the kind of person they become.
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Twenty-one Balloons
Fifth graders determine what the Newbery Award is and why it is importance. They examine a number of Newbery Award winning books and listen to a book talk about William Pene DuBois', Twenty-One Balloons while watching a PowerPoint...
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Find a Book
Student receives one book description card and in less than 2 minutes, they walk through the Media Center to find a book matching that description. After a matching book is found, each student evaluates the book.
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Make Way for Ducklings
First graders use skills to collect, organize, and interpret data. They compare and contrast two stories, Make Way for Ducklings and Chibi: A True Story From Japan. Students create a duckling.
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Fictional Biographies
Students read and discuss the fictional biography, "Strega Nona: Her Own Story" by Tomie dePaola. They compare the characters of the story to other fictional characters then choose their own favorite fictional character to write a...
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Autobiographical Postage Stamp
Pupils design a postage stamp that communicates to the world who they are, what they hope to be, what they are good at, and factual information. They use, "My Great Aunt Arizona" by Gloria Houston as a model for a biography.
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Contemporary Fairy Tales
Eighth graders listen Steven Kellog's, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Raymond Briggs, Jim and the Beanstalk. They use a Venn diagram to compare the two elements of the two stories. They write and publish an original contemporary fairy tale...
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The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush: Native American Life
Students read," The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush" by Tomie dePaola and discuss the way legends are passed down orally. They then create their own legend and illustrate it on a simulated "Buffalo Skin" made from brown paper.
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"The Father of Lavish Advertising": P.T. Barnum
Students examine the life and work of P.T. Barnum. They discover his advertising techniques and business practices. They examine his use of people with disabilities for amusement.
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A Day During Colonial Times
Fifth graders participate in read aloud activities of three books about life in Colonial times. They compare their life to that of children of Colonial times using a Venn diagram. They draw a picture and write about what a day in the...
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SCI-FI TALES
Fifth graders brainstorm known features of science fiction books and titles read. They pair up and discuss the possible physical characteristics fo a creature that could appear fron an excerpt of SCI-FI TALES.
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Tasmanian Time Travel
Sixth graders perform research using the Internet about the Tasmanian Devil. The project can be presented in a variety of ways. The use of computer software is important for students to know, specifically Hyperstudio.